AFMMAA
Air Force Materials and Manufacturing Alumni Association
AFMMAA
AFMMAA is a non-profit association of retired and active personnel from the Air Force Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/RX), located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio. Members include Air Force civilian, military, contractors and other friends.
The associations goals include:
• Maintaining connections between past and present personnel of AFRL/RX
• Providing support to AFRL/RX, including a primary function of using member-donated funds to provide merit-based scholarships to high school graduating children and grandchildren of current AFRL/XR civilian and military employees
• Fostering recognition of the importance of AFRL/RX's contributions to the advancement of materials and processing research, development and manufacturing technology
• Acting as an informal repository of the history of the AFRL/RX organization, from the point of view of the knowledge of individuals who in many cases had lifetimes of experience with the organization.
• Organizing social events to provide opportunities for members and friends to maintain contact.
DID YOU KNOW
Laboratory Legacy Items of Interest
Charles Cleary worked with Orville Wright on Airplane Technologies
This ML scientist & engineer for whom our first and most important award for scientific excellence is named, worked with Orville Wright in the early 1940s on
technologies for US Air Corp aircraft. These technologies were vital to the nation as it entered WWII.
During the work for the 2017 Centennial, the ML/RX history team discovered a photo of them together at the Dayton Engineers Club. In the photo, Orville is second from left, Charles Cleary is far right.
AFRL/RX NEWS
Members of Congress came to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in August to argue that national security requires reauthorizing and streamlining the Defense Production Act.
The act strengthens the defense supply chain, two members of the House, U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, and Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said in the field hearing at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
Davidson chairs the House Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, while Hill leads the Committee on Financial Services.
The Defense Production Act provides a “cornerstone authority” for national security, Davidson and Hill maintain, helping to on-shore or “friend-shore” defense-relevant manufacturing back to the United States or to friendly, allied nations.
The Department of Defense turned to the DPA most recently to support the processing of rare earths minerals.
This summer, Dr. Jacob Gissinger, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Stevens, is putting cutting-edge simulation tools to work at AFRL/RX.
As part of the Air Force's 2025 Summer Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Gissinger is using reactive molecular dynamics to simulate how high-speed aircraft coatings perform under extreme heat and stress. His work models atomic-level reactions that can lead to material failure, helping predict coating durability and guiding innovations in hypersonic flight, insulation, and fire protection.
“It’s exciting to contribute to both fundamental science and real-world innovation,” says Gissinger. “I’m looking forward to sharing this perspective with my lab team and students at Stevens.”
2025 AFMMAA SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
The 2025 AFMMAA scholarship recipient is Addilyn Slinker. In addition to the $1000 that was awarded to help with her education expenses, she will be formally honored at the annual AFRL/RX awards ceremony in January of 2026.